Fonus Inc.,

doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Fonus and Fonus Mobile, is an American

mobile virtual network operator A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. An MVNO enters into a business agreement with a mobil ...

founded in 2019 by Canadian entrepreneur Simon Tian and based in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. The company offers international wireless plans providing unlimited data, calls and texts in over 100 countries worldwide.

History

Fonus was founded by Simon Tian in 2019 and is based in

. The company initially launched a single monthly prepaid plan, providing users with up to 5G speeds of unlimited data, unlimited calls and texts to over 50 countries worldwide, and free roaming in the United States, Canada and Mexico at $30 per month. The data operates on

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

's cellular network in the United States and affiliate networks in Canada and Mexico, whereas the calls and texts are provided through Fonus' proprietary

voice over IP Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also known as IP telephony, is a set of technologies used primarily for voice communication sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. VoIP enables voice calls to be transmitted as ...

(VoIP) application. As of April 2021, Fonus is one of the top 10 best-rated mobile network operators worldwide on

Trustpilot Trustpilot Group plc, is a Danish consumer business operating a review website founded in Denmark in 2007 that hosts reviews of businesses worldwide. Nearly one-million new reviews are posted each month. The site offers freemium services to bu ...

. In late 2023, Fonus announced the launch of global wireless plans with unlimited data, calls & texts in over 50 countries, starting at US$19.99 per month. International calls to over 85 countries are included and unlimited. The plans provide 5G speeds worldwide and are available in physical SIM and eSIM formats. Mobile hotspotting, visual voicemail, and Wi-Fi Calling are also supported. In May 2024, Fonus announced a strategic partnership with

Tata Communications Tata Communications Limited (previously known as Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited) is an Indian telecommunications company. It was a government-owned telecommunications service provider before being sold to the Tata Group in 2002 under the Third ...

, leveraging Tata’s proprietary platform to expand and streamline Fonus’ wireless coverage worldwide. In March 2025, Fonus launched new wireless plans with expanded coverage in over 100 countries, up from 55 countries previously. Additionally, 5G support is now available in more than 90% of the countries covered. Unlike traditional carriers which impose time restrictions on international roaming - such as suspending service after extended periods abroad - Fonus does not enforce any such time limits on overseas usage. Users may use the service continuously in any supported country or destination, with no restrictions on duration of use.

References

External links

* Mobile virtual network operators 2019 establishments in California Companies based in Santa Monica, California Internet service providers of the United States Mobile phone companies of the United States Telecommunications companies established in 2019 AT&T Privately held companies based in California {{Telecom-company-stub